HC allows Kerala parlours to sell take-home beer

A court ruling has ended the legal obstruction in Kerala to take home beer bought from a beer & wine parlour.

A court ruling has ended the legal obstruction in Kerala to take home beer bought from a beer & wine parlour. The Kerala High Court has observed that there was no ban on selling beer by parlours for consumption outside their premises. The high court, while allowing a writ petition filed by a beer parlour licensee on Thursday, noted that the condition in the licence only prohibited the licensee from permitting consumption of beer on any premises other than the premises where the licensees were permitted to serve beer.

Following the excise policy of the previous UDF government, only 23 five-star hotels in Kerala currently serve alcohol. About 730 bars in three- and four-star establishments have stopped serving hard liquor over the last two years. In fact, 418 bars in 2014 and 312 bars in 2015 stopped serving brandy, whisky, vodka or rum. However, beer and wine parlours are allowed. The LDF government is yet to make any concrete initiative to reopen the bars, although it has been making efforts to test waters on public opinion.